title: Neuromuscular taping for the upper limb in Cerebral Palsy: A case study in a patient with hemiplegia.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess quantitatively the effects of Neuromuscular Taping (NMT) on the upper limb in a female child with left hemiplegia, due to Cerebral Palsy (CP).
  
  
  METHODS
  The patient underwent NMT on cervical level, shoulder and hand only of the plegic upper limb, followed by physical therapy. Kinematic data of upper limbs during reaching task were collected before (PRE) and after 2 weeks of treatment (POST).
  
  
  RESULTS
  After the intervention, the affected limb improved in terms of movement duration, Average Jerk and Number of Unit Movements indices, indicating a faster, smoother and less segmented movement. Improvements appeared at the ranges of motion of the upper limb joints, both at shoulder and elbow joints. No significant changes were globally displayed for the unaffected arm.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  NMT seems to be a promising intervention for improving upper limb movement in patients with CP. Further investigations are certainly needed to assess effectively the effects of the intervention in this pathological state.
authors.affiliation: Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Division, Orthopaedic Department, Umberto I Hospital, Sapienza University , Rome , Italy .
authors.forename: Filippo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Camerota
authors.forename: Manuela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Galli
authors.forename: Veronica
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Cimolin
authors.forename: Claudia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Celletti
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ancillao
authors.forename: David
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Blow
authors.forename: Giorgio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Albertini
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001132:Arm; D001696:Biomechanical Phenomena; D002547:Cerebral Palsy / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002648:Child; D005121:Extremities; D005260:Female; D006225:Hand; D006429:Hemiplegia / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D009068:Movement; D016896:Treatment Outcome; D034941:Upper Extremity / Q000503:physiopathology
keywords: Cerebral palsy; kinematics; neuromuscular taping; reaching; rehabilitation; upper limb